For aerthling I have questions about its exile ability. First off say a creature attacks and I choose to block with aerthling but then use its exile ability doesnt that resolve before combat damage meaning there will be nothing there till end step? Will that damage now hit me? If I chose to exile after damage step will it be killed if I don't boost it up in order for it to take non lethal damage? Also since stack resolves from top first if I wanted to boost his power or toughness let's say and exile so if I have untapped creature at end step do I have to first activate exile then activate its boost ability cause that would mean the boost ability would resolve first? If I boosted first then said ill also use exile ability won't the exile resolve before it gives it the boost? If you can just help me totally understand this ability ans how and when its used that would be great thanks
Please use card tags in future posts. The Forum Guidelines explain how to do that. ~ Hendrik
If you block an attacking creature with Ætherling and activate its ability to exile it before the game proceeds to the combat damage step, your opponent will be left with a blocked creature that doesn't have any creatures blocking it. Unless the creature has trample, it is only allowed to assign damage to blocking creatures, and since there aren't any, it can't assign damage at all. (If the creature has trample, then it can assign all damage in excess of what would be lethal to blockers - i.e. 0 - to the defending player, which is all of it.)
If you allow combat damage to be dealt, then state-based actions will be performed before the next time a player gets priority. In practice, this means that if Ætherling is about to be dealt lethal damage, you need to exile it or pump its toughness before damage is dealt if you want it to live. (Though your Ætherling will deal no damage if you exile it before combat damage happens, and it will do less damage if you use the -1/+1 ability before combat damage happens.)
Generally, it isn't useful to activate both the exile and pump abilities at the same time, since exiling Ætherling will render the pump moot, but you are allowed to activate either ability and respond to it by activating the other. The most recently activated ability will resolve first, since objects on the stack resolve in last-in, first-out order. If, for example, you activate the "exile me" ability and respond to it by activating the +1/-1 ability, then Ætherling will get +1/-1 and subsequently be exiled. If you did them in the other order, Ætherling would be exiled first and then the pump ability would do nothing because Ætherling isn't on the battlefield anymore. Note that in the first case, the pump won't carry over to when Ætherling returns to the battlefield because it is treated as a different object when it changes zones.
Ok thanks a lot that def helped. It's amazing that this creature has this much power to actually be able to assign him as a blocker to maybe a more powerful creature but exile before combat step leaving no damage dealt to me unless trample and leaving his creature tapped and mine returns is amazing thanks a lot
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Please use card tags in future posts. The Forum Guidelines explain how to do that. ~ Hendrik
If you block an attacking creature with Ætherling and activate its ability to exile it before the game proceeds to the combat damage step, your opponent will be left with a blocked creature that doesn't have any creatures blocking it. Unless the creature has trample, it is only allowed to assign damage to blocking creatures, and since there aren't any, it can't assign damage at all. (If the creature has trample, then it can assign all damage in excess of what would be lethal to blockers - i.e. 0 - to the defending player, which is all of it.)
If you allow combat damage to be dealt, then state-based actions will be performed before the next time a player gets priority. In practice, this means that if Ætherling is about to be dealt lethal damage, you need to exile it or pump its toughness before damage is dealt if you want it to live. (Though your Ætherling will deal no damage if you exile it before combat damage happens, and it will do less damage if you use the -1/+1 ability before combat damage happens.)
Generally, it isn't useful to activate both the exile and pump abilities at the same time, since exiling Ætherling will render the pump moot, but you are allowed to activate either ability and respond to it by activating the other. The most recently activated ability will resolve first, since objects on the stack resolve in last-in, first-out order. If, for example, you activate the "exile me" ability and respond to it by activating the +1/-1 ability, then Ætherling will get +1/-1 and subsequently be exiled. If you did them in the other order, Ætherling would be exiled first and then the pump ability would do nothing because Ætherling isn't on the battlefield anymore. Note that in the first case, the pump won't carry over to when Ætherling returns to the battlefield because it is treated as a different object when it changes zones.